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Mr Schneider Goes to Washington
| writer = | screenplay = | story = | based on = | starring = | narrator = | music = | cinematography = | editing = | studio = | distributor = | released = | runtime = 75 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }} Mr. Schneider goes to Washington is a 2007 American tongue-in-cheek Wikipedia:documentary film by Wikipedia:Jonathan Neil Schneider that takes a look at campaign financing in Washington. The film debuted at the Wikipedia:New Orleans Film Festival in 2007, and was released on DVD in 2008. Synopsis :Following from http://www.tubeplus.me/info/368332/Mr._Schneider_Goes_to_Washington/# Frustrated by Washington and his apathy towards it, Mr. Schneider is finally shaken off his comfortable couch and compelled to storm to the capital of the world’s only superpower to find out what is going on with his government. Quickly, Mr. Schneider discovers that things in Washington are even worse than he imagined. Because of their dependence on big business and special interests to finance their political futures, almost every decision the President, Vice-President and Members of Congress make is corrupted. After all, there is no bigger issue facing our political leaders than getting re-elected. From education to health care, social security to taxes, foreign policy to gas prices, Americans’ interests repeatedly take a back seat to that of special interests. Amazingly, Washington’s political elite agrees. Lobbyists, Members of Congress, lawyers, even the Commissioner of the agency responsible for regulating the influence of money in Washington candidly admit this is the most destructive influence on American democracy. Yet no one seems to care. More people voted for their favorite American Idol candidate than for their favorite candidate for President of the United States. We care more about the marital status of our favorite celebrity than what our elected leaders are doing in Washington. This isn't lost on the media, whose news coverage reflects its audience’s preoccupation. The result: a population of uniformed, disengaged and disenfranchised non-voters hold the world’s only super power in check. Also on the Tube+ site: "In a recent CNN poll 67% of Americans said they believe the American government is corrupt. Even more alarming, it seems 99.9% of the population does nothing to change it." Political Film Society review :"Mr. Schneider Goes to Washington, directed by Jonathan Neil Schneider, focuses on the role of money in American politics. In the style of a documentarian who injects himself into the role of a reporter seeking answers, he interviews past and present members of Congress as well as lobbyists on and off K Street in Washington. Although the subject has been covered many times in one-time documentaries on public television, the aim is to connect with a wider audience, particularly those who naively believe that something is wrong with American politics but do not know exactly what. Lurking amid the question/answer sessions is an implicit puzzle – Did John Kerry lose the 2004 presidential election because he could not raise enough money to run ads on television to match his opponent, George W. Bush? :"''Historically, the documentary identifies the source of the word “lobbyist” to the lobby of the Willard Hotel in Washington in the time of President Lincoln, when those seeking money for government contracts sought to buttonhole members of Congress who occupied rooms at the hotel. Today, the funds now sustaining some 34,700 lobbyists in Washington now amount to more than $2 billion per year. What does the money buy? The documentary suggests the follows: (1) Congressional gridlock results when lobbyists are on opposite sides of an issue, but otherwise lobbyists get their way. (2) Candidates use the funds to buy ads on television; but, to raise the money for the ads, they spend 70 percent of their time on fundraising, leaving precious little time for legislating. (3) Lobbyists write multipage legislation, demanding that their clients in Congress pass laws without reading details. (4) Lobbyists extort funds from vulnerable interests, such as those running Native American gambling casinos who fear that laws will adversely affect them. (5) Bribery occurs, though prosecutions are limited to big cases. (6) Campaign finance reform laws are passed for show but leave loopholes to permit candidates to continue as usual. (7) At least one supporter of serious campaign finance has been stripped of power in Congress by colleagues, and another has waffled after trying to be an advocate. After identifying the problem of money corrupting politics, suggestions for reform are advanced: (1) greater disclosure of contributors, (2) contribution limits, (3) reforming the anemic Federal Elections Commission to enforce the law, (4) public financing of elections, (5) and greater public participation to vote out those who have been corrupted. Unfortunately, the analysis of the problem suggests why the proposed remedies are unlikely. MH" - Political Film Society reveiew of Mr. Schneider Goes to WashingtonPolitical Film Society Cast Reception The 2007 Wikipedia:New Orleans Film Festival wrote, "Amazingly Mr. Schneider has made a film about corruption and apathy that is informative, entertaining and enraging." The 2007 Cucalorus Film Festival wrote, "Not all political documentaries are dull and staid, this one has porn stars. Perhaps it’s what you’d expect from a reality producer, but the result is a virtual makeover of the genre to make it fresh and fun." External links * Times Picayune * http://www.geocities.com/~polfilms/mrschneider.html * Movie Review Query Engine * Political Film Society * Geocities * official website: http://www.mrschneidergoestowashington.com/ * IMDb title: 1297454 * Article main body is copy violation. Sad. Sort of seemed a bit funky. Comes from http://www.tubeplus.me/info/368332/Mr._Schneider_Goes_to_Washington/# ; as it is hereby attributed, no longer copyvio * Ex-General Motors president Lee Iacocca's endorsement of the evils shown by the film as being "what Lee Iacocca thinks is wrong with politics". If only Wikipedia cared, the article might easily have been saved. It certainly is their sort of thing, people that make way too much money. I certainly don't. * Opinion at Wikipedia:Variety Wikipedia:Template:poli-documentary-film-stub References Category:2007 films Category:2008 films Category:Activism Category:American political films Category:American documentary films Category:Campaign finance in the United States Category:Campaign finance reform in the United States Category:Campaign finance reform Category:Communication of falsehoods Category:Conflict of interest Category:Deception Films Politics Politics Category:Documentary films about activism Category:Documentary films about politics Category:Documentary films about American politics Politics Politics Category:Election campaigning Campaigning Category:Finance Category:English-language films Category:Media manipulation Category:Mass media Category:Mind control Category:Mind control methods Category:Political films by genre Category:Political films Category:Political funding Category:Politics of the United States Funding Funding Funding Category:Political communication Category:Political power of the legislature Category:Political power of advertising Category:Political power of Capitalism Category:Political power of media Category:Political power Category:Politics Category:Promotion and marketing communications Category:Propaganda Category:Public relations Category:Public opinion Documentaries Category:The arts and politics Documentary films Category:Documentary films